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Kagome finished her lunch in silence as she happily watched her friends. Shippo and Kilala were wrestling, Sango and Miroku were sitting very close to each other and whispering, and Inuyasha was seated next to her silently eating as well. Noticing that he had finished, she held out her open hand in front of him in order to take his bowl. He complied, and she frowned slightly when she noticed his bowl still had rice in it.
'That's strange,' she thought. 'He never leaves leftovers. Maybe it's because he's still healing. Although he has been acting weird ever since he came back from meeting Kikyo.' She pushed that thought out of her head. There was no reason to be thinking about Kikyo anymore, not since Inuyasha came back to her. Maybe now would be a good time to talk to him, now that everyone seemed happy.
She was about to ask him to take a walk with her when Miroku's voice cut her off.
"You know, Inuyasha," he began, "there's more than enough room for you, Kagome, and Shippo to live here in the village."
"Yes," Sango agreed. "We've pretty much been exterminating demons during our entire journey, so why not stay with us and continue to? We could all rebuild the village together and make a good living exterminating."
Shippo stopped playing with the fire cat in order to hear the hanyou's response. Sango and Miroku's proposal was pretty much his dream come true, all of them living together, Kagome and Inuyasha acting as his parents. It would be perfect! But his hopes were instantly dashed when he saw the scowl that was plastered on Inuyasha's face.
"Kagome's going home in the morning," he stated.
"I don't have to leave right away," Kagome retorted. "Mama won't mind if I spend some time here with my friends, at least until we figure out what we're going to do."
"What's to figure out? We found all the jewel shards, so now it's time for you to go home." He didn't even look at her as he said it, but rather to the opposite side where there was no one to face.
The group all seemed to gasp at the same time. No one expected Inuyasha to dismiss Kagome so easily, especially the girl in question.
"You don't want me here anymore?" she asked, genuine hurt soaking her voice thoroughly.
A "feh" was her reply.
"I guess I should go pack my things then." The girl from the future quickly got up and sped into her hut.
"How could you be so mean to Kagome?!" Shippo shouted into the hanyou's dog-ears. "You can't just send her away!"
"I can and I will," he snapped, picking the kitsune up by his tail and tossing him aside. Crying, Shippo ran after Kagome into their hut.
Inuyasha looked up to meet the gazes of his other companions. Miroku's was a look of confusion, whereas Sango and Kilala both looked as though they were ready to attack him at any moment.
"Have you no feelings for the girl at all?!" Sango practically yelled through clenched teeth. She stood up, and for a moment Inuyasha thought she might be coming after him, but instead she walked past him and towards Kagome's hut, Kilala at her heals.
"I must admit I'm surprised by this too," Miroku began. "I thought for sure that you were in love with Lady Kagome."
Inuyasha blushed slightly and turned away.
"You don't understand anything, Monk," he said. "Kagome needs to go home for her own good."
"You can't leave because of him," Shippo exclaimed.
Kagome wasn't even trying to stifle her tears as she shoved her belongings into her yellow bag. He actually wanted her gone? Just like that? No 'thank you', no 'goodbye', no 'I love you'?
"I can't stay if he doesn't want me here, Shippo," she said, though it wasn't much of an explanation.
"Are you alright Kagome?" Sango asked as she burst past the grass mat in the doorway.
"Just fine," she cried, all the while shoving more things into her bag, taking her frustration out on innocent bottles of shampoo and cans of soda.
"Kagome," the older girl prodded as she knelt beside her friend. Sango gently placed her hands on Kagome's shoulders, willing her to open up.
Kagome stopped her furious packing, but stayed in her place, hands still on the bag.
"He saw Kikyo this morning, but he came back. I thought that meant he chose me."
Sango tensed upon hearing the name Kikyo. Being busy with laying Kohaku to rest and making plans with Miroku, it had completely slipped her mind that Kikyo was still afoot.
Kagome continued to cry and pour her heart out.
"All those times he was jealous of Kouga, when he'd get mad at me for leaving, when he protected me in battle… I thought that meant…. I thought…" She couldn't finish her sentence, and instead collapsed into her friends open arms.
"It's alright Kagome," Sango said. "We all thought the same thing. Something must be going on. Hopefully Miroku will be able to get to the bottom of this."
"What are you talking about, Inuyasha?" the monk questioned.
"Kikyo's coming for me tomorrow night and I don't want Kagome here when she shows up," he explained with a huff.
"You're going with Kikyo?"
"Of course I am. It's the only way for her to have peace. I owe it to her."
"What amazes me, Inuyasha, is that you feel you owe your life to a woman who tried to kill you, and yet you feel you owe Kagome nothing. It's obvious to me, and all our companions for that matter, that you owe Kagome a great deal more than you do Kikyo."
"What the hell are you talking about? Kikyo chose to die rather than live without me. How can I possibly be more indebted to Kagome than I am to her?"
"Was it not Kagome who freed you from the God Tree? Kagome who countless times put her life in danger for your sake, even though she didn't have to? Kagome who continuously leaves behind her family and friends to come here to be with you, to help you complete the Shikon Jewel?"
"She does that because she was the one who broke the damn thing."
"Even so, here she is, perfectly willing to hand the jewel and all it's power over to you, even though you've led us all to believe you intend to use it to become a full demon."
"I've told you I'm not going to become full demon."
"Yes, but Kagome still doesn't know that. And most importantly, if not for Kagome's sacred arrow, we would not have been able to defeat Naraku."
"I could have taken Naraku down by myself just fine. She just kept getting in the way."
"Be realistic, Inuyasha. If Naraku hadn't been so weakened by her arrow, you wouldn't have been able to deal the final blow."
"Why do you care so much about this anyway? It's none of your business!" The hanyou was growing more incensed by the second. Who did that nosy monk think he was?
"Kagome is my friend, so I'm making it my business," Miroku replied coolly.
"My decision if final," said Inuyasha, his tone leaving no room to argue. "And I don't want Kagome here when it happens."
"At the very least you owe her an explanation. She's loves you very much. Do you want her to wonder the rest of her life what she did to make you send her away so abruptly? Do you want her to spend her whole life wondering what was so wrong with her that you couldn't love her?"
"This has nothing to do with love. It's my about doing my duty."
"Then don't you think she deserves to know that?" Miroku looked past Inuyasha then to see Sango coming out of Kagome's hut. An angry look set on her face, she took a seat next to her monk and proceeded to glare daggers at her half-demon friend.
"Mind explaining what this is all about, hanyou?" she ordered. When he gave no answer, Miroku spoke up for him.
"Kikyo is coming to collect Inuyasha tomorrow night. He's says he doesn't want Kagome here to see it."
"You mean you're going to hell with that… that…"
"Watch it," Inuyasha warned with a growl.
"But why?!"
"I've said it before and I'll say it again; I owe her!!"
"And what about Kagome?" Sango exclaimed. "You don't owe her just because she didn't die? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"What is it with you and the monk? What I do is none of your business. Kagome will be fine. She'll go home to her family and friends and have a normal life."
"No I won't." Startled, Inuyasha turned around to see Kagome standing almost directly behind him with Shippo and Kilala. He had been so busy arguing that he hadn't noticed her arrival. "I can never have a normal life after everything we've been through," she continued.
"How much did you hear?" he questioned. He never meant for her to know about Kikyo.
"I heard enough," she said taking a seat beside him in front of the dying fire. "You were never going to tell me, were you?" He shook his head.
She closed her eyes softly, seeming to ponder over something. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, she opened them again and spoke up.
"Don't do it."
"I have to."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"No you don't!" she shouted, catching everyone off guard as she stood up. "Dammit Inuyasha! Don't you see that if you do this he's won?!"
"What are you talking about, you crazy wench?!"
"If you go with Kikyo you'll be dead, just like Naraku always wanted! We may have killed him, but if you just lay down and die then he's won anyway!"
Not daring to talk during their confrontation, Miroku silently agreed with the young miko. All Naraku had wanted was their suffering and Inuyasha's death. If he went to hell with Kikyo, then Naraku would have what he wanted.
"Naraku's dead! This isn't about him!"
"Yes it is! You're going to die with Kikyo, just like Naraku tried to do to you fifty years ago! Kikyo made a mistake when she fell for his trick! You can't just let yourself die because of a mistake made such a long time ago!"
"Shut up!" he shouted, anger very clearly written on his red face.
"No! If she loved you then she'd want you to live like I do!" she shouted in return, tears in her eyes as she pointed to herself for emphasis. "I'm the one who loves you Inuyasha! Me!"
A harsh silence very suddenly befell the group, as they all seemed to choke on their own breath. No one was surprised at what she said, just the way she said it. The sounds of her sobs shattered the silence like glass.
"Kagome," Inuyasha began as her reached up to take her hand. She jerked it away.
"No," she murmured. "Just don't." Immediately she was off in the direction of her hut again.
"Kagome wait!" he called as he got up to follow her.
"Sit!" And then he was facedown in the dirt, her message very clear: 'Don't follow me.'
When Shippo entered the hut, he found Kagome still crying and continuing to pack her belongings away. He knew what that meant. She was going to leave, and she was going to leave soon.
"Please don't go yet," he pleaded with a whimper.
"Oh Shippo," she replied. "It just hurts too much to stay with him any longer. I just want to go home and be with my family."
"But I'm your family. I want you to stay with me." Kagome scooped up the boy into her arms and held him close. Shippo held her as tight as his little arms would let him.
"If the well stays open, I promise I'll come back to visit you. But now I have to go."
"At least stay until the morning. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."
"Alright," Kagome nodded. "I'll stay for you, Shippo." She didn't think it was possible, but the kitsune managed to squeeze her even tighter.
"You're staying?" questioned Sango as she entered the hut.
"Just for tonight," she replied. "Listen, Sango, I wanted to ask you if you'd watch after Shippo for me. Once the Shikon Jewel is gone, I don't know if the well will stay open, and in case it doesn't I just need to know that he'll be taken care of."
"You didn't have to ask, Kagome. Of course I'll take care of him. He's like family now." Pulling away from Kagome, Shippo smiled up at the demon exterminator.
"Really?" he asked innocently.
"Really," she smiled.
Kagome put Shippo down in order to take something out of her bag. It was the complete Shikon Jewel, and she handed it to Sango.
"Take this," she said. "I want you to have it. Once I'm back home you can wish for your family back. After all, Inuyasha won't need it where he's going." She said the last sentence with a bitterness anyone could taste.
"Thank you, Kagome, but I don't want to wish for my family back."
"You don't? But why?"
"I think Kikyo's showed us all that the dead need to remain dead. Besides, I don't want Kohaku to live with the memories he has. It would be too painful for him," Sango explained.
"Keep it for me anyway?" Kagome asked.
"Yes," she agreed. "It has always been this village's job to protect the jewel, so I will do the same." Kagome smiled her 'thank you', grateful to know that everything would be taken care of once she was back home.
That night, Inuyasha took up his usual post in a tree branch. He couldn't sleep though, didn't want to really. He didn't know for sure if he was doing the right thing. Was he simply taking the easy way out? It seemed easier to just go with Kikyo than it did to send her away to die alone, to mourn her all over again. It seemed easier than telling her he didn't want to be with her because he'd found someone else. But is the easy path the right one?
He was planning to take Kagome back to the well in the morning. There was no way he'd let her take that journey alone. He wanted to say goodbye properly, without all their friends watching and judging. He was going to tell her how sorry he was. After all, he never meant for her to be hurt by this. Inuyasha had thought he had done of good job of pushing her away, keeping her from getting too close, too involved. Obviously he failed in more ways than one. Not only had she developed feelings for him, but she had made her way into his heart as well. But did he love her enough to turn Kikyo away? Is the difficult path the right one?
Inuyasha became alert to a familiar scent. Looking down below his tree, he could clearly see Kagome with her yellow pack over her shoulders as she strode away from her hut. She was obviously trying to sneak away in the night so she wouldn't have to face him in the morning. The others wouldn't be happy about this, especially Shippo, but if she wanted to go ahead and leave, then he wouldn't stop her. Maybe it was for the best anyway.
He kept a close eye on her until she disappeared into the tree line. Once she was out of sight he made sure to listen as closely as possible, but soon became agitated at not being able to see her. He fought the urge to follow her though. He had made his choice. He had to let Kagome go.
Just as he had forced himself to relax, he heard a soft gasp, and then a thud. Swiftly, he was on the ground and running in her direction. Within seconds she was in his sight again, laying unmoving on the ground. As he stopped and knelt beside her he could see that her breathing was labored and she had broken out into a sweat.
"Kagome," he called to her, but there was no reply, just a pained look on her face. He began to examine her body with his eyes and soon found the cause of her problems. A bite mark on her lower leg showed that she'd most likely been bitten by a snake.
"You dumb girl," he said. "You've gone and got yourself poisoned." But his calloused words were betrayed by the obvious concern and panic in his voice. He lifted her up then, and was back in the village in no time at all.
"Sango!" he shouted as he burst through the hut's doorway. His calls woke everyone.
"What happened Inuyasha?" the demon exterminator asked as she put her hand on her friend's forehead.
"She's been poisoned." He watched impatiently as Miroku and Shippo cleared off a futon so he could lay her down.
"What was she doing outside this time of night?" Miroku questioned.
"Was she leaving without saying goodbye?" cried Shippo.
Inuyasha didn't reply to the questions, but instead commanded that they do something fast. Miroku was already digging through her bag looking for medicine, Sango was soaking some cloth in cool water for her fever, and Shippo was begging for her to wake up.
"She can't hear you!" Inuyasha roared. "Just give her some room!" Whimpering, Shippo backed away as he was told, but not so far that he couldn't see Kagome.
Once Miroku found what he was looking for, he began to stuff it into Kagome's mouth, hoping she would swallow the herb mixture. Luckily, her reflexes took over and she was able to get the medicine down.
"How long before it works?" demanded the hanyou.
"I don't know," he replied grimly. "Inuyasha, what happened out there?"
"I'm not sure. I saw her trying to sneak out and leave by herself. I was going to let her go, but I heard her fall to the ground. When I found her she was like this, and there's a bite mark on her leg."
"So she was leaving without saying goodbye," Sango concluded. Kagome moaned a little as Sango put the wet cloth to her forehead. "If her fever breaks soon," she continued, "then she'll probably make it through this."
Inuyasha was on his knees next to Kagome, berating himself mentally for not stopping her.
'If I had only stopped you from leaving… If I hadn't decided to send you away you wouldn't be in this condition,' he thought. 'I'm sorry Kagome.'
Hours later the last of the group had finally fallen asleep, save for Inuyasha who hadn't planned on sleeping anyway. He was still at his post by her bedside, much like she had been for him only a day before. It was funny how fast situations can change. Here he was, perfectly healed while Kagome was the one fighting for her life.
"I should have just died in that battle," he thought out loud. "I would have saved you all this pain." Kagome moaned, as if in response, as she squeezed her eyes even tighter shut in pain. Inuyasha looked around, making sure the noise hadn't woken anyone else up. When he was positive that no one could hear him, he began to whisper to Kagome, so only she could hear, that is, if she was able.
"I never wanted you to fall in love with me," he began. "I never thought I was worth your affections, but I realize now that I should have just considered myself lucky. I'm so angry that you have to be lying here, fighting for your life, for me to finally realize what I had. I'm sorry that I was so blind, and I'm even more sorry that I hurt you. Believe me that was the last thing I ever wanted. But I just need you to know that you got through my walls, and you'll probably never know what you mean to me."
He let out a sigh and closed his eyes in defeat. It was too late to fix things now.
In the opposite corner of the room, not daring to move a muscle for fear of being found out, a young kitsune lay awake.
'So he does love her after all,' he thought. Smiling to himself, he drifted off to sleep.
As sunlight assaulted his eyes, Shippo awoke to see Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku all staring out the door of the hut. The boy rubbed his eyes and sleepily climbed up onto Miroku's shoulder to see what they were all looking at.
"She's early," Sango stated coldly. Shippo eye's soon found the object of everyone's attention. Three of Kikyo's soul stealers were gliding through the village directly in their view, no doubt sent by the undead woman to summon Inuyasha.
Inuyasha sighed, but didn't look back at the still unconscious Kagome as he stepped out of the doorway.
"Inuyasha," Miroku and Shippo called out in shock.
"Take care of her," was all he said.
"Dammit Inuyasha!" shouted Sango. "Don't you dare leave her like this!"
"I said take care of Kagome," he stated firmly, glancing over his shoulder to look Sango in the eye in order to get his point across.
"Don't you leave her Inuyasha!" she continued to argue. "Inuyasha!!"
The half demon didn't look back, and they all watched, stunned into stillness, as he walked out of the village, soul stealers leading his way.
I guess that ending can be called a cliffhanger. I not positive seeing as I've never written one before. Hope no one's mad at me. :D Anyway….
Reviewer Responses:
Whisper on the Wind – You scared Kikyo away! Notice how she wasn't technically in this chapter? See what you've done! ;)
lonegungirl88 - Hands you tissues It'll all be okay. You'll see!
JediK1 – Excellent alias young master. ;)
IY-luver789 – Glad you like it so far. I hope I didn't scare you away with this chapter.
DarkRoses217 – Of course your review matters! And you reviewed again which means a lot to me too! I'm glad I'm keeping you guessing. I know it's a pretty basic plot but I definitely didn't want it to be a predictable story. There's nothing more boring than that. I hope you're still wondering about where this goes. Thanks for sticking around!
BakaBokken – I'm so honored you took time to read my first Inu fic! I'm a little embarrassed too, it's such a humble little fic. And I have heard about that San/Mir episode (because I'm a spoiler WHORE) but I didn't want to royally screw up and try to write about something I haven't actually seen. And I haven't heard about CN stopping Inuyasha. I knew they only have a limited number of news dubbed episodes, but I always thought they'd show more when they became available. They're even showing the first movie in spring of '05. Ok, this is getting a little long. Sorry! And thanks so much for reviewing! It made my day!
Anyway guys, it looks like this should all be resolved in the next chapter. It kinda sucks, because I was hoping to make it 5 chapters long, but that's what I get for writing such long chapters (long for me at least). Maybe someday I'll be able to write a nice long epic story. Till then, I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Thanks!